By Obinna Uballa
Amid the ongoing reactions over a viral video showing Senator Adams Oshiomhole rubbing a woman’s foot aboard a private jet, fresh media reports indicate that the woman is not Oshiomhole’s wife, Iara Fortes, a Cape Verdean lawyer and former model, as earlier speculated online.
A report by SaharaReporters, an online newspaper, said the woman is a South African lifestyle influencer and adult-oriented content creator known on TikTok as @leshaandagama and previously on Instagram as @leshaan_dagama.
According to the newspaper, her Instagram profile reportedly described her as a “professional sugar baby” and cautioned “broke people” to stay away.
The revelation has further stirred public debate, with many Nigerians questioning the optics of a serving senator displaying luxury at a time of widespread economic hardship.
The short clip, which began trending on Monday, shows Oshiomhole rubbing the woman’s right foot inside a luxury private jet, reigniting conversations around political privilege, elite lifestyles and inequality.
Oshiomhole’s personal history has added another layer to the controversy. A former textile worker, he became general secretary of the National Union of Textile, Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria in 1982.
Following Nigeria’s return to democracy in 1999, he rose to national prominence as president of the Nigeria Labour Congress, leading several nationwide strikes over fuel price hikes.
He contested the 2007 Edo State governorship election under the Action Congress (AC), initially losing to PDP candidate Oserheimen Osunbor. After prolonged legal battles, election tribunals and appellate courts overturned the result in 2008 and declared him governor.
He was re-elected in 2012 and served until November 2016.
In June 2018, Oshiomhole became national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) but was suspended in November 2019 by party leaders in Edo State, a decision later upheld by the party and affirmed by the courts in 2020.
He returned to elective politics in 2022, winning the APC primary for Edo North Senatorial District, and was declared winner of the senatorial election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in February 2023.
In June 2025, he was also involved in a publicised altercation at the Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos after missing an Air Peace flight to Abuja. The airline accused him of confronting staff and disrupting operations, an incident captured on video. Air Peace subsequently condemned what it described as unruly conduct.
